Why the Lowrance GPS antenna failed

The antenna that returns no signal. 



This is not just some cold solder joint that failed.



Belly of the beast. Now where could water be getting in? The outer ring has an o-ring that is not shown in the pics.



Maybe here? Could water have leaked between the seat and the plastic? 



Nope not here.  Perfectly sealed at all 4 connections.



This spot looks like a suspect. 



Caught red handed. Felt!   



The felt was glued down nicely but last time I checked, FELT will pass water.  The only time this problem will be encountered is during immersion that gets past the outer o-ring. I pulled the felt pad up a little to show it better. Lowrance probably used this as a water barrier for 'most' circumstances but would let humity and pressure equalization.



The trouble maker removed. The antenna is shot from the corrosion. I ordered a replacement on ebay for about 25 bucks shipped. I will waterproof the new one in a casing of epoxy case around the seams and wire seal.

-Brian G

Way to super sleuth the problem Brian. I too had a FF issue the other day. Mine wasn't reading the bottom. I listened to Sean and removed my transducer. Viola! There was the culprit. I had used too much goop to seal the transducer to the bottom of the yak, which caused an air bubble to form. I ripped her off and made a much smaller bed of goop. Now she should work great...I hope.

CHEERS!

Bummer.  When it comes to electronics I think ff's on yaks see way more exposure than the mfgs ever imagined possible for a "boat".  Nice detective work.

Great job Brian,
Always wondered what happened to cause that antenna to fail.
I will be talking with Lowrance today at the FRESNO SPORTS SHOW and
that felt plug will be the main topic in our discussion.
Hope you're enjoying the prowler and looking forward to fishing
the Altura's with you and Ricky.
Eric